


Emotional Support

by Lilbug121



Category: The Rock-Afire Explosion
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, Gen, Killing two tropes with one stone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-15
Updated: 2014-10-15
Packaged: 2018-02-21 05:31:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2456558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilbug121/pseuds/Lilbug121
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mitzi feels self-conscious about her new braces, and her friends help her out as best they can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Emotional Support

**Author's Note:**

> A highschool AU is obligatory for every fandom sorry I don't make the rules.

Dook slid his backpack off his shoulder and let it hit the ground, wrapping an arm around Mitzi's shoulder. “C’mon Mitzi, you can’t go all day without showing us. I’m pretty sure that would be actually impossible.” Mitzi frowned at Dook as well as she could, considering she was holding her lips in place over her teeth.

“Yeah Mitz, it’s not like we’d make fun of you or anything.” Beach added, and almost everyone nodded in agreement.

“Hey, speak for yourself. If she looks dumb she looks dumb; no offense.”

Beach Bear frowned at Rolfe. “There’s being honest and then there’s being mean you know.”

“And I’m _honestly_ saying that she might look dumb.”

“But didn’t you used to have braces?” Billy Bob asked. “Maybe you should be nicer about it, seeing as you know what it’s like and all.”

Rolfe paused. “…Well, it was only for a year. And I was the kind of person who looked ok with braces anyways-I mean, it’s pretty hard to make me look bad!”

Beach chuckled. “You had that headgear that goes around your head in a circle!”

“…Only for a few months.”

“On picture day.” Fatz added, eyeing Rolfe down.

“Hey, I told you to stop bringing that up! You didn’t even know me as a Freshman; it looked better in person.” Fatz continued to glare at him. "Alright, fine.” Rolfe conceded. “Braces are awful. I won’t tell her if they look ugly, even though it would clearly be a favor.”

“They’re not gonna look ugly.” Dook reassured Mitzi. She closed her eyes and sighed. She wishes she had gotten them as a Freshman like everyone else who needed them, and not a Sophomore like she is now. But plenty of people still had braces on, she rationalizes. 

Mitzi opens her mouth, reluctantly displaying the gleaming metal lacing her overbite. Because of how her jaw is shaped she’ll always have a trace of it, but the braces are supposed to make it less noticeable and, most importantly, less of a speech impediment.

“Do I sound funny? I feel like I sound funny” she lisps slightly. That was honestly her biggest concern, the visual only the icing on the embarrassment cake.  

“Sounds just like before” Billy Bob assures her. Mitzi hazards a small smile.

“So you’re ok then?” Dook checks. She nods, but she's not sure if she really is.

“My mouth feels like it’s trying to kill my face, though. Does that go away?” she asks Rolfe.

“Sure. About two days before they get tightened again.”

Mitzi leans the back of her head against her locker and groans. It’s not cheer leading season yet, but it’s fast approaching and she’s not sure if she’ll be able to comfortably smile wide enough to perform by then. Not to mention that despite her friends’ assurances she still feels as though her lisp has grown worse, and it had already been the bane of both her and her chorus teacher; a kid singing with a lisp is cute. A teen singing with a lisp is annoying.

Mitzi voices her concerns. Cheer and music are her two favorite things after all (and she silently counts herself lucky that her preferred hobbies happen to look pretty good to colleges). She expects a word or two of reassurance or sympathy or maybe even advice. What she does not expect is for Billy Bob to pull her up into a tight hug. She can’t help but giggle at the suddenness of the action, which may have been part of his motivation.

“What’s this for?”

“You’re sad, and I don’t know what to say to make you feel better. But you don’t need words to give someone a hug.”

"Sounds like sound logic to me" Beach adds before hugging Mitzi as well.

It seems like everyone hopped on the “make Mitzi feel better” train, because Dook and Fatz also maneuvered themselves around their haphazard collection of book bags, guitar cases, and sports equipment to join her hug. She considered it must look like a bit of a scene, but with her friends she was more than used to it. Billy Bob literally has a reputation for starting group hugs, that is how common that is.

If nothing else it takes Mitzi’s mind off of her woes and places it instead on the mass of laughter that is currently poking her in the side with a drumstick and mussing up her hair.

“Rooooolf~” she sing-songs.

He rolls his eyes. “Underclassmen.”

“You’re a year older than us.”

He turns away, crossing his arms. She can see him glancing back though.

Mitzi sighs. “Join the hug Rolfe.”

He makes a show of rolling his eyes again, but does ultimately join the outer edge of the embrace.

“Was that so bad?” she giggles, almost completely forgetting her prior worries.

Rolfe sighs. “You’re lucky I like you.” 


End file.
